House Passes Bill on Indigent Care for Immigrants

Texas Tribune reports that: A contentious measure that would allow Texas counties to consider the income of a legal immigrant's sponsor when determining if the immigrant is eligible for indigent health care passed the House today. Senate Bill 420, by state Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, also would allow counties to take into consideration the income of a sponsor's spouse when the applicant requested indigent care. A sponsored alien is one who is admitted into the country legally after an affidavit of support is submitted in his or her favor by a U.S. citizen. The bill passed the House 100 to 37; it passed the Senate last month. The proposed legislation has drawn a flurry of criticism from opponents who allege it is an attempt to use the current fervor over illegal immigration to punish those who have legally migrated to Texas. "We've had a lot of bills [filed] that really try to attack a large segment of our population," said state Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, one of 37 Democrats to vote against the measure. But state Rep. Van Taylor, R-Plano, the House sponsor, said the bill was only meant to keep counties in line with what the federal government already mandates, and pointed to language on federal immigration forms, like the I-134. It requires that a sponsor agree to language that the alien "will not become a public charge in the United States." The form also includes language specifically stating that the sponsor's own income "and assets may be considered in deciding the person's application." Taylor filed an identical bill in the House, HB 655, but it was not heard before last week's deadline.